A different kind of hero story
by isapheonix
Summary: Sesshomaru is away somewhere and Jaken and Rin are left by themselves. Suddenly they are forced to save the day all by their lonesome selves. Can they manage when they can barely defend themselves? this attempts to be a mystery and has a slow pace.
1. Chapter 1

Jaken poked the fire in an attempt to make it warmer and sighed for the fourth time that night. Every time he tried to sleep the fire would burn out and Rin would start shivering again, and even though that wouldn't bother him particularly much he knew that Sesshomaru-sama would break his face when he returned. Somehow Sesshomaru-sama always knew when he had let Rin get cold or hungry or something else.

"Why is it even this cold now?" he grumbled to himself. It was still early August but that didn't seem to matter to the weather gods who had decided that there would be over night frost by August second.

Throwing another log on the fire Jaken flopped onto his back. "Sessomaru-sama has been away for close to a week" he thought to himself. Chuckling softly he reminded himself how there had been a time only a few months before when he would have been more then happy to be away from all of the dangers that Sesshomaru faced. All that had changed when Rin had arrived. Now he found that he almost missed the excitement. Sesshomaru had never been an easy man to work or live with. When he wasn't silent he was threatening death or merely finishing thoughts out loud. He even had a rather perverse sense of humour that mostly consisted of watching him panic after a death threat. But still that had been something hadn't it?

Jaken shook himself out of his familiar train of thought. Every night Sesshomaru was gone he went through the same thoughts and every night he was still no closer to answering any of the questions that had bothered him forever. Why did he follow Sesshomaru? Why did Sesshomaru keep him with him?

"Jaken-sama?" came Rins hesitant voice from across the fire.

"what?" he replied curtly. It was late and he was in no mood to answer questions.

"Do you think sesshomaru-sama will be back soon?"

"how should I know!" was his stern reply. They had had this conversation many times and he always gave the same answers.

"Jaken-sama?" she asked again the same hesitant voice.

"what?" he replied just as curtly knowing full well that she was about to ask if sesshomaru was always away this long.

"If Sesshomaru-sama doesn't come back would you make Rin go away?"

"What?" Jaken asked far more interested, "why are you asking me this?"

"You're right, Rin is sorry Jaken-sama." Jaken sat up and looked at Rin, totally confused. She sounded so sad as she said this it hurt Jaken to hear this though he wasn't sure why she said it.

"Just go to sleep Rin, I'm sure Sesshomaru will be back tomorrow." He replied hoping that would cheer her up. Rin curled up on her side facing away from the fire and away from Jaken. "Good night Rin."

"Good night Jaken-sama."

Jaken lay back down and tried desperately to figure out what had happened to make her say all of this. Normally she just talked about Sesshomaru until she fell asleep and then she would wake up smiling about absolutely nothing. He had never in all the time she had travelled with them sounded so sad. He was still trying to figure it out when a scream shattered the quiet five minutes later.

"Jaken-sama?!" came Rins frightened squeal as she leapt to her feet. Jaken was up in seconds running towards where Rin was standing indecisevely. Ah Un was already at her side by the time Jaken caught up and mounted the two headed dragon.

"But Jaken-sama wait, we have to find out whats wrong." she protested as Jaken dragged her onto the dragon.

"The only thing we have to do is stay safe." Jaken screeched in response. He didn't know what was wrong and he didn't care just so long as they weren't injured then he didn't have anything to worry about. "Ah Un." He pleaded. He knew that Ah Un would understand.  
"Jaken-sama we HAVE to find out whats wrong." Rin yelled again desperately.

"That's enough Rin. We are leaving!" He reiterated.

"No Jaken-sama. Rin can't foget this." She said close to tears. Jaken just ignored her and urged the dragon to take off. "Rin can't forget this." she repeated, "and Rin won't!" Before Jaken could react Rin leapt off of the dragon and sprinted towards the scream.

"Rin wait, where are you going?" Jaken howled. "There may be bandits but if shes hurt Sesshomaru-sama WILL kill me." He only needed a second to make his decision. "Follow Rin." He urged the dragon, hoping against hope that she was allright.

Rin ran deep into the night ignoring the branches and other things that tore at her face and clothes. She was gasping for breath and there were all kinds of scary noises around but she didn't care. There was someone in the woods nearby who was in big trouble and she knew that even if Jaken did not want to help Ah Un would. The dragon had been there for her on more then one occasion and would do the same again now. Another scream tore through the night causing her to run that much faster in a desperate attempt to find out what was wrong.

"Its only a little ahead." She thought desperately trying to urge a little more strength and speed out of her little limbs. "How does Sesshomaru-sama do this so easily?" she asked herself. Up ahead she saw a dim glow from a fire and suddenly hunched close to the ground. She realized that Ah Un had not caught up yet and, until he did there was nothing she could do but watch.

Rin edged closer to the small camp. The whole place was a mess. Cloth bags had been ripped to shreds and their contents had been strewn all over the place. A blanket had been set on fire and left near the remnants of a destroyed meal. A bow had been snapped in half while the arrows were sticking all over the place. There was a sword stuck in a tree while an axe was leaning against a rock. Something bad had happened but there was no one there. Rin was about to creep into the camp when, finally, Ah Un arrived bringing a shaking Jaken with him.

"Rin get on quick and we can leave." He whispered desperately."

"No, not until we find out if we can help." She shot back at him. Jaken seemed taken aback by her harshness. "good." She thought, "its not like he wants me here anyway."

"Rin I know you want to help but there is nothing we can do." He tried to reason. "there is no one here, or even a clue about where they went."

"Rin wants to make sure first." She answered softly. She got up slowly and entered the camp, trying to listen for any unexpected noise over Jakens panicked noise behind her. As she made her way slowly into the camp the first thing she noticed was an odd smell. It was unlike anything she had every smelt before. There was a metallic edge to it while at the same time a smell like rotten eggs.

"Jaken-sama, do you know what that smell is?" she asked quietly.

"How should I know I don't pay attention to every smell on the planet!" he began what promised to be a very long rant, all whispering forgotten. "We shouldn't even be here smelling this we should have.."  
"But Jaken-sama, Rin has never smelled anything like this and Rin thinks that this has something to do with what happened here." She interrupted. Jaken sighed and crawled off the dragon. He walked up beside her and took a deep breath as he surveyed the wreckage around him.

"I don't know what that is." He responded, puzzled. He had been alive for hundreds of years and had thought he had found everything that there was to do and see but this was different.

"Jaken-sama look at this!" she demanded without waiting for him to finish his answer. It was a particularly frustrating habit of hers. She was leaning over some of the stuff that had been dragged everywhere and was holding a scroll in her hand. Jaken came up beside her and took the scroll, knowing that she couldn't read it yet. "What does it say?" she asked.

"Jaken began pointing at the characters on the page. " It says 'my dear lord, we have not heard from you for some time and grow impatient. You have not informed us of any progress. We grow tired of waiting. A scout will be sent to find you. Make no mistake he will as we only employ the best. Then you will reveal everything.' There is no signature on the page, and it smells only of humans." He concluded sniffing the parchment in his hand. There was also the faint trace of bad egg again.

Looking around he began taking stock of the disarray. Though Sessomaru-sama was far more intelligent then he, he could still deduce some things.

"What is it Jaken-sama?" Rin asked.

"There was a battle here between two humans." He reasoned out loud. "The first had a sword with him or her and snuck in while the second was eating." He said gesturing around. "The second was surprised which probably accounts for that scream we heard but reacted quickly with a nearby bow. The first was driven off but not before slicing the bow in half and embedding his or her sword in that tree," Jaken pointed at some foot prints, "and the second followed with another weapon, probably another sword," this time he pointed at a gas in the ground nearby. "They both ran out that way less then ten minutes ago." He concluded. He did not bother pointing out the smell of blood in the air or the drops coming off of the other sword. That would only scare her.

"Amazing Jaken-sama." Rin comlimented warmly. "But Rin wonders if they are ok now."

"The attacker is likely gone and the other person will probably return soon. We should leave before they arrive or we will likely be attacked." He finished, turning towards Ah Un. Rin hesitated and turned to follow when the bushes behind them started shaking. All three turned to look as the mystery camper emerged from the darkness.

A/N

Ok heres my second story. I can't believe how long this chapter was already and I just started. My goal is to finish this whether it sucks or not so review if you want, don't if you don't but just remember that if you do the story can only get that much better. Thanks for reading the first chapter, hope you find it interesting enough to read the second. By the way I don't own inuyasha or any affiliated characters. If I did there would be a nice little side story about me and sessh but that's unimportant.


	2. a long talk

Rin stared at the man who had emerged from the shadows blankly while Jaken stood beside her quivering and sounding as if he were trying to swallow his own tongue. Dimly she thought that the man was not as tall as Sesshomaru-sama, nor as pale. He was slumped against a tree and carrying a sword while struggling desperately to stand, but he was still very muscular with dark hair down to his collar bone. When he looked at her he had the saddest eyes she had ever seen. Rin swallowed nervously and tried to take a step towards him but Jaken intervened.

"Are you stupid girl?" He demanded grabbing her arm. "Don't go near that human!"

"But Jaken-sama…" Rin began but she was interrupted by the man.

"Please…" The man gasped out, "water please." He begged as he slid to the ground, the sword clutched in his one hand while the other was keeping him from falling on his face to the floor.

"Jaken-sama," she began again.

"No buts! Get on Ah-Un. We're leaving. This man is half dead anyways!"

"Please." The man begged again this time resting on his forearms. "Please I won't…harm…you."

His eyes implored her to listen. Rin looked at Jaken then back at the man. She made her decision instantly.

"Ah-Un. " She cried climbing up the side of the dragon. Jaken was hot in pursuit when she turned on him. "Jaken-sama you wait here. Ah-Un, take Rin to the closest river." She was in the air before Jaken could protest and before the man hit the ground.

***

Jaken squeaked with horror as Rin took off. She and the dragon were out of sight in a matter of seconds showing her desperation. He turned to look at the man sprawled on the ground in front of him.

"Hey human, what is your name!?" he demanded. Predictably the man did not respond as he could barely get enough air for himself.

Jaken sighed loudly from frustration. He was vaguely aware that that was the fifth or sixth time he had sighed like that that night and it was all because of Rin. Rin was away by herself somewhere leaving him with this filthy, bloody, smelly human.

"My name…" the man gasped out interrupting his train of thought, "my name…is unimportant…would." A fit of coughing interrupted. The man got his breath again and looked at Jaken. "Would only… get you.. and your friend..killed." the man pushed himself into a sitting position against the tree again. He seemed to be getting his strength back. Jaken watched the man, interested, but still incredibly wary. "Why…" the man swallowed, "why… does the girl… Rin…travel with you… with demons?"

"That is none of your concern human." Jaken bit back furiously. "This human is insolent. " Jaken though angrily. "if sesshomaru-sama were here then this human would be dead by now. Why did Rin have to come here anyway? This is all because of her foolishness."

The fire between Jaken and the human on the other side of the clearing had almost burned down by the time Rin returned, carrying three containers full of water on Ah-Uns back. "Rin we're leaving!" Jaken tried again, but Rin continued to ignore him as she leapt from the dragons back with the water and ran to the injured mans side.

Holding the water to his mouth the man guzzled from the container.  
"Not too much." Jaken demanded, pretending to not interested in the proceedings but unable to turn away. Everyone looked at him curiously. "You are too injured. It will all just end up coming back up." The man nodded and put the water down while Rin smiled at Jaken brightly. She took the second water jug and began rinsing and cleaning his wounds the way she had seen the mikos do. Finally jaken could not resist. He pulled a strip of cloth off of his over robe and handed it to Rin for bandages. With the water the man seemed to regain some colouring.

Jaken took the strange mans appearance into consideration. Once his wounds had been cleaned he didn't look so close to death. He was still pale and he still had to labour for his breathing, but he looked like he would make it.

"Rin stay here with Ah-Un and I'll get some food and blankets. Build up the fire while I'm gone. If anyone comes, leave immediately and wait for me out of sight." Jaken ordered confidently. He didn't get to give orders often but when he did, he enjoyed it thoroughly. Rin nodded at him and he ran out into the forest looking for rabbits and other things that could easily go into a soup.

***

Rin and the man watched Jaken walk out of sight. She was frightened but at the same time she was not.

"How were you hurt?" Rin asked pointing at the cuts and bruises on his arms and face.

"An assassin. He managed to catch up with me. "The man grimaced.

"Whats that smell?" Rin asked right away.

"I can't tell you about that. It's best if you don't know." The man answered, but not unkindly.

"Where are you from?" Rin asked hopping from foot to foot, there was so much she wanted to know.

"Well I came from a town not far from here. The local samurai were taking over everything and I thought it was best to get out of there." He replied with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Were the samurai hurting everyone?" Rin asked concerned, knowing how ruthless bandits and mercenaries could be.

"No it was just best to leave." He answered knowing what was coming next.

"Why?"

"Well I guess they thought it was best to avoid bloodshed." He said evasively.

"So why did you think you should leave?" Rin asked nonplussed. The man held up his hand with a smile.  
"Can I ask you a question?" he said comfortable. He was starting to breathe a lot easier.

"Sure." Rin replied with a big smile.

"Why do you travel with demons?" he asked curiously.

Rin answered with a smile, "Rin stays with Jaken-sama, Sesshomaru-sama, and Ah-Un. They are Rins friends." The man looked thoughtful at this. He seemed to be trying to make a decision.

"I left because the samurai lord found out I'm a doctor, and an inventor. He wanted me to make some things for him that I didn't want to build so I moved to another town. I left again when I got that letter on the ground over there."

"Does it have something to do with that smell?" Rin asked calmly.

"Yeah it does." He said uncomfortably. "You're pretty smart you know that Rin?"

She smiled at the compliment. "Really? Jaken-sama and Sesshomaru-sama are smarter, maybe Rin learned from them?"

"Maybe." The man replied with a smile. Rin hesitated before pressing on.

"What is your name?" she asked politely.

"Well I can't tell you that but if you want you can make one up for me." Rin really smiled at that.

"Ok, how about Om?" she offered while she built up the fire again.

"Om?" the man asked in surprise "why Om?"

"Well Ah is Ah and Un is Un so you can be Om." She said as if that explained everything. The mans smile grew even wider at this.

"Om sounds great." He began to move himself closer to the fire in an effort to get warmer.

"Does Om have a family?" Rin asked helping him inch closer. Om smiled his gratitude.

"No my work was my life so I don't have any family." He answered settling in comfortably. He gestured at his large, nearly empty pack so that Rin would bring it for him.

"Not even brothers or sisters?" Rin asked in shock. She also brought a blanket that was smoking slightly.

"No not even those." He said his smile fading a little. "Thank you." He arranged the blanket and bag so he could lean against it.

"Why was there an assassin after you?" Rin asked after a short while. She really wanted to know but she wasn't sure Om would tell her. Om deliberated for a moment.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. The samurai wouldn't want to hurt me but it seems that someone does."

"Did Om kill that man?" Rin asked sadly. She knew that Sesshomaru-sama and Jaken-sama often killed humans without a care but that didn't mean she liked it.

Om saw her face and chose not to answer. Instead he asked her "where is your family?"

Rin looked even more despondent at that and the man wanted to snatch the words out of the air so they wouldn't hurt her anymore. Just as she opened her mouth to answer Jaken came crashing out of the woods with a dead rabbit and some mushrooms.

"Finally I have returned. Rin boil some water." Rin brightened and ran to her task with the last jar of water. Om smiled at her enthusiasm. "Her smile is really very infectious" he mused silently.

Jaken glowered at the man. He and Rin had been talking alone for quite some time, and although Rin had not been injured, she had been very sad when Jaken returned. What had they been talking about?

"Human." Jaken began but Rin interrupted. "His name is Om." Rin stated happily.

"You told her your name?" Jaken demanded incredulously. Maybe Om just didn't like demons and that was why he hadn't said it before.

"I let her make up a name." Om said almost apologetically. Oh thought Jaken, he couldn't have been that bad to Rin if she had named him.

"Om," he tried again, "What is that smell you are covered in!?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry but I can not say." Om replied. He didn't much like Jaken but Rin seemed to get along with him though. Jaken opened his mouth to protest but Rin interrupted.  
"Jaken-sama can you help me skin the rabbits?" she asked sweetly. "and I need some more herbs for the soup."

"So go find some herbs and I'll skin the rabbits you pest." Rin didn't look like she liked this suggestion very much but she agreed nonetheless.

***

As Rin left the clearing for the second time that night Jaken rounded on Om. "All right lets get one thing straight. I don't care what that smell is really or what it's for but I can't let Rin be hurt. If whatever that is can hurt her I want to know right now!" Jaken ordered.

Om smirked at him. "It's good that your so protective but let me ask you this, if it were dangerous do you really think I would have come back here?" Jaken was furious at that. That should have been obvious. Outraged into silence Jaken turned to the rabbits.

"Jaken, you obviously don't like me and don't want to be here, so why did you come here?" Om asked calmly. Jaken ignored him as he had seen Sesshomaru do thousands of times. Of course since it wasn't as effective for Jaken, Om immediately replied, "Rin right? I thought so. She's an amazing little girl." Jaken was shaking with anger now. "Her family is dead right?" Om asked undaunted. Jaken still did not answer. "I thought so. I asked her about them but she got so sad. I thought that was the reason." So that's why she was so sad, Jaken thought. "Can I help you with the rabbits?" Om tried again.

Jaken handed him a rabbit silently and the two worked without making a sound. Jaken thought about everything that was going on as he worked. Something didn't make sense. There was this funny smell and a man who was addressed as a lord and fought like a lion but was living in a clearing like a beggar. There were men trying to kill this man and letters from those trying to find him. And then there was Om himself who refused to talk about his past to Jaken. Maybe he had said something to Rin, who seemed to be able to get anyone to open up. He would have to compare notes with her. The man was friendly and courteous. Moments later the rabbits and mushrooms were boiling. Jaken and Om were still sitting on either side of the fire waiting for Rin. Both were getting edgy. "She is taking too long." Om said unhappily. "Why did you send her by herself any way. She's just a child." Jaken glared at the man.

"I'm going to find her." Jaken said finally, leaving the clearing and Om behind with some relief.

a/n wow that took a while. Ok heres chapter two. I just want to explain something quickly. As I put in the summary, I'm doing my best to write a mystery here and as I have little or no experience with that I don't know how well its going to turn out so if there are any issues of plot holes or anything else like that then let me know. This is going to be a slow pace as I'm not a fan of describing action scenes. Its just too hard to get the pace required for them just right and still convey all the details they need and then to keep them interesting. Yoy.

To the anonymous reviewer: Good eye. Thanks hope I fixed that for you ok. Thanks for the criticism and keep it coming because I do want people to enjoy this.

Finally and once again, I am not a frillionaire named rumiko takahashi I am merely a fanfiction wrighter so of course I own absolutely nothing.


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